Fact Check: Do red states build more housing per capita than blue states?
Yes
According to data from the U.S. Census, in 2024, states with Republican governors issued 4.66 permits for housing units per 1,000 residents, while the same statistic for states with Democratic governors was at 3.60.
Idaho (8.80), South Carolina (8.62), and North Carolina (8.56), led the way in most permits per capita. Meanwhile, Alaska (1.34), Rhode Island (1.51), and Illinois (1.56) were at the bottom of the list.
Several factors contribute to the partisan divide. More land remains available in larger, rural red states compared to smaller, urban blue states. Red states also have fewer environmental regulations and less restrictive zoning laws, and labor and construction costs tend to be cheaper.
Between January 2021 and April 2024, home-building costs in the U.S. rose by 35%, and Moody’s Analytics calculates that there is a shortage of 2.8 million homes.
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Sources:
Google Sheets EconoFact House Permits by State
United States Census Bureau Permits by State
United States Census Bureau State Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024
BALLOTPEDIA Partisan composition of governors
Brookings Where do the estimates of a “housing shortage” come from?
Newsweek Blue States Are Creating a Housing Market Crisis
Yahoo Finance As Election Tensions Mount, Blue-State Residents Flock To Red States In Search of Affordable Housing
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